Tour de Fat raises $500K for nonprofits nationwide

New Belgium Brewing’s costumed bike tour, Tour de Fat, raised more than $500,000 for local nonprofits in the cities the tour visited this year, the company said Wednesday.

Tour de Fat visited 15 cities between June and October, attracting nearly 75,000 festival attendees and more than 47,000 cyclists.

The ride also broke the $2 million mark in total dollars raised since its inception 13 years ago. The money from each stop goes to nonprofit organizations and is typically spent on cyclist-friendly causes, such as trail maintenance and safety education.

Money is raised at the tours through beer and merchandise purchases, as well as the cars donated through the car-for-bike swap conducted at every Tour de Fat.

The Fort Collins race, which took place on Sept. 1, had the largest number of attendees with 21,000. The ride raised $79,057, topping the Denver ride, which raised $71,454.